Tracing options – Adobe Illustrator CS3 User Manual

Page 84

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ILLUSTRATOR CS3

User Guide

78

Before and after tracing a bitmap image with the Live Trace command

For a video on using Live Trace, see

www.adobe.com/go/vid0043

.

Automatically trace artwork

1

Open or place a file to use as the source image for the tracing.

2

With the source image selected, do one of the following:

To trace the image using a tracing preset, click the Tracing Presets and Options button

in the Control panel,

and select a preset.

To trace the image using the default tracing options, click Live Trace in the Control panel, or choose Object > Live
Trace > Make.

To set tracing options before you trace the image, click the Tracing Presets and Options button

in

the

Control

panel, and choose Tracing Options. Alternatively, choose Object > Live Trace > Tracing Options. Set tracing
options, and then click Trace.

3

(Optional) Adjust the results of the tracing.

4

(Optional) Convert the tracing to paths or to a Live Paint object.

Use template layers to manually trace artwork

Template layers are locked, nonprinting layers that you can use to manually trace images. Template layers are
dimmed by 50% so you can easily see any paths you draw in front of the layer. You can create template layers when
you place an image or from existing layers.

1

Do one of the following:

To place an image as a template layer for tracing, choose File > Place, select the EPS, PDF, or raster image file you
want to trace, select Template, and then click Place. A new template layer appears below the current layer in the
panel.

To trace an existing image, make sure the image is in its own layer, double-click the layer in the Layers panel, select
Template, and click OK; alternatively, select the layer and choose Template from the panel menu.

The eye icon

is replaced by the template icon

, and the layer is locked.

2

Trace over the file using the Pen tool or the Pencil tool.

3

To hide the template layer, choose View

> Hide Template. Choose View

> Show Template layer to see it again.

4

To turn a template layer into a regular layer, double-click the template layer in the Layers panel, deselect Template,

and click

OK.

Tracing options

Preset

Specifies a tracing preset.

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